#Dressgate 2.0: Bulgarian banner mistaken for Russian flag in Kiev

Ahead of the visit of the Bulgarian president to Ukraine, Kiev was decorated with the two countries’ national flags. However, pictured at twilight, the Bulgarian flags were mistaken for Russian ones, sparking controversy over social networks.

The mistake, totally unthinkable for Ukrainian nationalists, was
‘flagged’ by Dmitry Linko, a Ukrainian MP from the Radical Party
and an active participant in the so-called anti-terrorist
operation in the Donbass region.

“They are hanging out flags of Ukraine and Bulgaria in
downtown Kiev right now. Well, I took a look at them and I want
to ask: are you sure this flag is the Bulgarian one? What do you
think?” the radical MP asked on Facebook, publishing a photo
of what he claimed to be a Russian flag flying alongside the
Ukrainian one.

The ‘substitution error’ can’t be blamed on the responsible
staff’s short sightedness or an intentional prank. The ‘flag
issue’ is actually about visual perception and the mastery of the
photographer, who took the photo in poor lighting condition.

The flags of Russia and Bulgaria are similar, but the middle
stripe is blue on the Russian national flag and green on the
Bulgarian.

The photo of the flags was taken during twilight, which in the
absence of true daylight turned the green color to blue. This
accounts for the uproar in the Ukrainian sector of Facebook.

In March, a photo of a dress taken in February caused #DressGate social networks around the globe to
explode, as people divided into two opposing groups regarding the
color of the dress.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is paying a visit to the
Ukrainian capital, where he is expected to meet the Rada Speaker
Vladimir Groisman on Tuesday. There have been no further reports
about ‘false flags’ fluttering on the streets of the Ukrainian
capital so far.

However, a year ago the Ukrainian authorities did make a real
blunder with foreign national flags. In April 2014, an official
visit by Switzerland’s president to Ukraine started off on the
wrong foot as the country’s coup-imposed authorities greeted him
with a Danish flag instead of a Swiss one.